Economy
Ahmed Urges Investors to Explore SEC’s Master Plan Initiatives
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, has advised investors in the capital market to take advantage of initiatives introduced by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) aimed primarily to strengthen the market and accelerate development.
Mrs Ahmed gave this advice at the enlightenment workshop/investor clinic session with the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning and its agencies in Abuja on Wednesday.
The 10-year Master Plan initiatives include an e-dividend mandate system, Direct cash settlement, regularisation of multiple accounts, national investors protection fund, recapitalisation of capital market operators and complaints management framework, among others.
The Minister, who was represented by Mr Stephen Okon, Director Home Finance, said the enlightenment program was in line with the commission’s Capital Market Master Plan and urged SEC to reflect and review the challenges faced by investors with a view of actualizing the objectives of the plan in the remaining few years.
She said, “It is worthy to know that the SEC marked out a 10-year plan for the development of the Nigerian capital market. The objective is to devise strategies for the development of the Nigerian capital market in key areas such as investor protection and integration, professionalism and product innovation and for the expansion of the capital markets role in Nigeria’s economy.
“The SEC deemed it fit to host members of staff of the ministry of finance, budget and national planning and agencies under the ministry in a capital market training procession and workshop with investors.
“This event is to share knowledge on the capital market as well as obtain feedback from such bodies as a medium on the exchange of ideas and feedback to SEC on how to continuously improve on the market activities and regulations which is central to Nigeria’s request for implementation and achieving sustainable development.
“I enjoin participants to take advantage of initiatives introduced in the capital market which are aimed primarily at strengthening the market and accelerating development. I wish to congratulate SEC for the foresight and sense of purpose in organizing this workshop.”
In his opening address, Director General of the SEC, Mr Lamido Yuguda said the event which is organised by SEC in collaboration with the Financial Literacy Technical Committee (FLTC) is an annual event coordinated by IOSCO, which it mandates securities regulators globally to commemorate in their respective jurisdictions for the promotion of investor education and protection.
Mr Yuguda said as a member of IOSCO, the agency was joining the rest of the world to celebrate this important week with planned activities focused on enlightening retail investors on their rights, duties and responsibilities, and educating them on contemporary issues in the Nigerian capital market.
According to Mr Yuguda, the Nigerian financial sector is experiencing a resurgence of Ponzi schemes and illegal fund managers, who lure their subscribers by making promises of huge and unjustifiable returns on investment adding that these unlawful schemes have and continued to enjoy the massive patronage of the Nigerian populace and remain a source of concern for regulators in the financial sector.
“Thus, the commission is poised to continue to apply measures and seek the cooperation of relevant stakeholders to combat the activities of these unlawful schemes, which have undermined the reputation of our financial markets and dampened investors’ confidence, among other things.
“The SEC firmly believes that the Nigerian capital market can attain its potentials if market operators/participants contribute their respective quotas to the growth of the market. The SEC commits to always ensure and maintain an environment that is enabled by the appropriate regulatory framework, timely and affordable access to market, zero-tolerance for infractions, heightened investor confidence and awareness, innovative product development and good governance practices.
“There is the need to restore investor confidence and improve the participation of retail investors in the market. The demography of investors in the Nigerian capital market shows that our young population do not participate in the capital market, and only a few Nigerians invest in the capital market. This situation creates a huge challenge to the growth of our market and the commission is striving to change the narrative by instilling a fair, transparent and orderly market,” he added.
By Dipo Olowookere
Transactions on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited rallied on Tuesday by 0.75 per cent after investors intensified their demand for local stocks.
It was a tough battle between the bulls and the bears during the session, but the former overcame by a whisker after the bourse recorded 29 appreciating equities and 28 depreciating equities, indicating a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.
The growth posted by Customs Street yesterday could be attributed to the appetite for MTN Nigeria shares, which chalked up 10.00 per cent to settle at N256.30.
SCOA Nigeria appreciated by 9.93 per cent to N2.99, Omatek grew by 9.88 per cent to 89 Kobo, Universal Insurance rose by 8.70 per cent to 75 Kobo, and CAP gained 8.52 per cent to trade at N47.75.
Conversely, Secure Electronic Technology lost 9.88 per cent to quote at 73 Kobo, Abbey Mortgage Bank declined by 9.09 per cent to N3.30, Sunu Assurances tumbled by 8.21 per cent to N6.15, Deap Capital slumped by 7.08 per cent to N1.05, and C&I Leasing depreciated by 6.82 per cent to N4.10.
A total of 440.3 million equities valued at N12.0 billion exchanged hands in 13,087 deals compared with the 1.3 billion equities worth N17.7 billion transacted in 13,891 deals on Monday, representing a decline in the trading volume, value and number of deals by 66.79 per cent, 32.20 per cent and 5.79 per cent, respectively.
Lasaco Assurance ended the session as the most traded stock after it sold 108.1 million units valued at N338.7 million, Access Holdings traded 44.0 million units for N1.1 billion, UBA exchanged 27.9 million units worth N945.7 million, Zenith Bank transacted 26.7 million units for N1.3 billion, and Universal Insurance traded 22.7 million units valued at N16.7 million.
On Tuesday, the insurance, banking and industrial goods sectors jumped by 1.03 per cent, 0.30 per cent, and 0.03 per cent, respectively, and the consumer goods and energy counters lost 0.38 per cent and 0.36 per cent apiece.
The All-Share Index (ASI) went up yesterday by 767.63 points to 103,137.99 points from 102,370.36 points and the market capitalisation increased by N472 billion to N63.333 trillion from N62.861 trillion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria ranked as Africa’s leading destination for upstream oil and gas investment in 2024, new research from market intelligence firm, Wood Mackenzie, has shown, accounting for three out of four Final Investment Decisions (FIDs) announced by global oil and gas majors, totaling $13.5 billion.
The FIDs announced within the Nigerian market included Shell’s $122 million investment in the Iseni Gas Project, TotalEnergies’ $566 million commitment to the Ubeta Gas Project and Shell’s approval of the Bonga North Tranche 1 project valued at around $5 billion.
According to the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Energy, Ms Olu Verheijen, these investments reflected Nigeria’s ongoing efforts to unlock its hydrocarbon potential through investor-friendly policies and strategic global partnerships.
Last year, Nigeria introduced several initiatives to create a conducive environment for oil and gas investors, including new tax incentives aimed at attracting up to $10 billion in natural gas investments.
Nigeria, which is Africa’s largest oil producer, also offered tax relief for gas investors, reducing corporate income tax and extending capital allowance benefits – for deepwater gas projects.
Other policies include the Presidential Directive on Local Content Compliance Requirements 2024 to address the reduction in oil and gas investments caused by high operating costs compared to global markets.
Also, the Presidential Directive on Reduction of Petroleum Sector Contracting Costs and Timelines 2024 reduces the time spent to award contracts for oil and gas projects.
In addition to the directives, Nigeria also launched its 2024 oil and gas licensing round, offering 19 blocks for exploration, demonstrating its commitment to continued collaboration with local, regional and international partners.
Market analysts note that with this momentum, further FIDs are anticipated, including TotalEnergies’ expected $750 million commitment to the Ima Shallow Gas Project in 2025.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a 0.22 per cent decline on Monday, January 20, with the market capitalisation shedding N2.35 billion to close at N1.073 trillion compared with the preceding session’s N1.075 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) going down by 6.79 points to wrap the session at 3,105.12 points compared with 3,111.91 points recorded in the previous session.
It was observed that the loss recorded on the first trading day of the week was triggered by UBN Property Plc, which crashed by 20 Kobo to trade at N2.00 per share versus last Friday’s N2.20 per share.
However, the share price of Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc went up by 4 Kobo to 40 Kobo per unit from 36 Kobo per unit, it could not stop the bourse from going down at the close of transactions.
The activity chart showed that on Monday, the volume of securities traded by investors increased by 57.9 per cent to 767,610 units from the 486,215 units traded in the preceding session, while the value of shares traded yesterday slumped by 17.7 per cent to N2.3 million from the N2.8 million recorded in the preceding trading day, as the number of deals declined by 14.3 per cent to 12 deals from the 14 deals carried out in the previous trading day.
At the close of transactions, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 4.1 million units worth N162.9 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with a turnover of 9.1 million units valued at N44.0 million, and 11 Plc with the sale of 55,358 for N14.5 million.
Also, Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc closed the day as the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 25.3 million units sold for N5.9 million, Geo-Fluids Plc came next with 9.1 million units valued at N44.0 million, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 4.1 million units worth N162.9 million.
-
Feature/OPED5 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism8 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz2 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking7 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy2 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking2 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Sports2 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn
-
Technology4 years agoHow To Link Your MTN, Airtel, Glo, 9mobile Lines to NIN